Final Year Students of BA (Hons) Textile Design at Chelsea College of Arts (UAL) were asked to explore new markets and products for khadi. In India, khadi refers to handwoven and hand-spun cloth. At the beginning of the 20th Century, Mahatma Gandhi called for a boycott of foreign cloth and promoted the spinning and weaving of khadi for rural self-employment and self-reliance (rather than using cloth manufactured industrially in Britain). Khadi became an integral part of the movement that led to India’s Independence in 1947 and embodies principles of freedom and non-violent protest.
The project was initially briefed to stage 2 students in February 2020, with Rohit Vadhwana (First Secretary (Economics), Indian High Commission) Kishore Shah (Khadi London) and Jo Salter (Khadi London) in attendance. After delivery of khadi materials and a fabulous round of charkha spinning workshops from Asha Buch, the UK was put into a national lockdown and the project was put on hold. The students were then re-briefed at the end of October 2020 as Covid restrictions were relaxed.
For much of the project, Covid lockdowns have meant that students have had limited access to the generous material supplies provided by Khadi London. However, BA Textile Design students have shown resilience and imagination, often working on ideas without access to textile workshops and equipment. The judging panel commended the high quality of student submissions and from an outstanding array of entries, four winning students were chosen to collaborate with partners in India on the development of their designs.
Khadi Project Leader, Kishore Shah, Co-founder and Director, Khadi London said, “This project feels like the beginning of something much bigger. It is part of a rediscovery of Indian handmade fabrics by the western world as fabrics with meaning, texture and aesthetics as a bonus. Khadi with its inherent idea of localised production where farmers, graziers and artisans collaborate and where crafts and technology work together can provide a pathway for fashion and textiles to fit for the twenty-first century. I wouldn’t be surprised if khadi becomes an integral part of the fashion and textile syllabus in the very near future.”
